Vurten Ransomware

Vurten Ransomware is bad news. This infection was discovered only recently, but it is believed that it might be spreading to the vulnerable Windows operating systems already. If the operating system is guarded by reputable anti-malware software, malicious threats do not stand a chance at slithering in and executing. In general, the targets of this infection are unguarded systems, and it is likely to attack them using corrupted spam emails carrying the malicious launcher as an attachment, or unsafe RDP configurations. The worst part is that the infection slithers in without anyone’s notice, which allows it to perform in a malicious manner without any disruptions. Most victims of this threat learn about its existence only after the files are encrypted and the ransom demands are made. Of course, if the victim recognizes the malicious file, they might have a chance to delete it in time, but most victims will remove Vurten Ransomware after it encrypts their personal photos, documents, and other sensitive files.

The devious Vurten Ransomware does not waste any time to perform the encryption of files. As soon as it finds its way in, it scans the system for specific files. According to our research, this infection can identify and corrupt at least 213 different kinds of files, which include photos, media files, and, of course, text documents. When the files are encrypted, the “.improves” extension is also added to their names, which should help the victim identify the corrupted files faster. It is essential to check if files were encrypted when ransom demands are made because some infections only pose as file encryptors. Of course, Vurten Ransomware is not one of them, and it does encrypt files. However, checking if the files were encrypted is recommended anyway in case the infection fails for some reason. Needless to say, if the files are unharmed, you need to remove the infection as soon as possible. If files are encrypted, you might want to figure out what is going on first. Every folder containing corrupted files should also contain a TXT file created by the ransomware called “UNCRYPT.README.txt.” Opening it is not dangerous, but you will need to delete it eventually.

According to the ransom note revealed via the “UNCRYPT.README.txt” file, the victim has the option to recover files by transferring $10,000-worth of Bitcoins to 1Ln9RxSRuDqqFhCTuqBPBKRMeyhVhRaUG4 in seven days. If you do that and then email vurten_knyert@protonmail.com to confirm the transaction, you should get a decryptor, but, of course, no one knows if that would actually happen. 10,000 USD is a lot of money, and so it is possible that Vurten Ransomware was created to target big organizations and companies, but that is yet to be confirmed. Overall, you would be taking a huge risk by paying the ransom, and our research team cannot recommend doing that for this reason. Do you have backups? That would save the day, but if you want to check your online or external backups, do so using a malware-free computer because you do not want to risk having your backups encrypted as well. If you do not use backups, most likely, the files encrypted by Vurten Ransomware are lost for good, and it is important that you set up a reliable backup to ensure that you do not lose precious files in the future.

All you need to do to delete Vurten Ransomware is to get rid of its launcher file, as well as the ransom note file and its copies. Can you do it manually? Some Windows users will have no trouble with that, but others will not be able to successfully get rid of the infection manually. Since your operating system is not protected reliably, we recommend installing an anti-malware program you can trust. As long as this program is legitimate and up-to-date, it will automatically remove Vurten Ransomware and ensure reliable protection of your operating system. Of course, because new infections emerge daily and because some of them are extremely aggressive and powerful, you should also back up your personal files. If you take care of that as well, you will not need to worry about losing your files ever again. If you want to ask us questions about the infection or its elimination, use the comments section right below.

Vurten Ransomware Removal

Identify the malicious .exe file that launched the infection (location and name can be random).

Right-click the file and select Delete.

Delete all copies of UNCRYPT.README.txt file and then Empty Recycle Bin.

Install a legitimate malware scanner to check if your system is clean or if you still need to delete malware.